"You didn't say this before, uncle," Aegon said to Jaehaerys.
Almost a moon had passed since Jaehaerys arrived at Bonefort. Aegon arrived after taking Great Wyk, and Ser Arthur led the troops to take Old Wyk. The islands fell quickly. At Great Wyk, they surrendered to Aegon, while at Old Wyk, Arthur took their oaths on behalf of his king.
Jaehaerys wondered if news of what had happened at Blacktyde and the other islands had reached the ears of the inhabitants of these islands. How would it have reached them? He had no idea, but it was not an idea to be dismissed, not when they had surrendered so easily.
"My lands need people. To increase the population, I have already asked the islands. They agreed." Jaehaerys studied Aegon's face.
"I don't mean that, I mean the iron... why do you want so much of it?" Aegon asked, frowning.
"For the future of my lands," Jaehaerys replied. Aegon asked no more.
"Enslaving them... your reputation with the Unsullied is not the best," Aegon countered.
"It's not slavery. They will be given food. In time, it could become a source of trade for them," Jaehaerys shrugged.
Aegon was silent as he closed his eyes. The king was wearing his armor, as was Jaehaerys; both were about to set out to take Pyke. The Greyjoy forces had retreated to Balon's stronghold. This was going to go badly. They were already resisting with every damn ounce of will and food. Stannis had defeated them at sea.
Pyke was an imposing fortress, Jaehaerys had to admit. They were on the island, connected to it by a bridge. The fortress was built on islets, linked together by suspension bridges. The entrance was on the island, a crescent-shaped fortress. It was difficult to take mainly because there was no landing stage nearby; ships preferred Lordsport for docking.
So the king had taken Lordsport first, which was the safe passage to Pyke. He had kept ships between the islets to avoid any problems and was preparing to attack and take the castle.
"I will accept your terms on one condition," the king said. Jaehaerys gestured for him to continue. "Stay off the battlefield this time," the prince nodded.
He didn't care about glory or the king's need to validate himself. His desire to kill Ironborns had waned after destroying three islands.
Even then, he looked at his nephew, Aegon, who looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he didn't find the courage to do so.
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Jaehaerys stood in front of a suspension bridge, a hood covering his body. One of his eyes was white, and he made sure no one was looking in that direction. He had Balon Greyjoy's corpse behind him. He had killed him while he was alone. The old man no longer had any baron heirs; the last of them had fallen from the sky.
Literally.
Jaehaerys had mounted Rodrik on his dragon on the first day. Moonfyre had almost refused to fly. Then he dropped him on the fortress. Aegon scolded him for it, but it did not change his treatment of him at all.
"I was not informed of your presence here," Tywin's cold voice cut through the air. Jaehaerys had allowed him to look at his face for a few seconds.
"So what?" Jaehaerys calmly approached Tywin, who was with four knights. Probably believing he was safe. Right now, they were on their way to the great hall of the fortress.
It took Aegon 11 days to take Pyke. Now he was with Asha Greyjoy, who would be the new ruler. Jaehaerys had influenced this decision, as Asha, being a woman, would not have such a stable position. Even more so after the Ironborn lost the war. Anything she gave in on would be seen as weakness, weakness for being a woman. She would have to deal with men wanting her position, even if they would have kissed the king's shoes in the same position.
"The king is waiting," Tywin walked across the bridge with confidence, despite the whipping winds.
"Don't worry, I'll be right there," Jaehaerys took a Valyrian steel knife, courtesy of Baelish, and cut the ropes.
The men behind Tywin drew their swords, but Tywin stopped them. His hand gripped the ropes tightly, and the bridge began to sway more violently.
"Is this how it's all going to end?" Tywin almost spat.
It was a simple death, without drama. If Balon were to blame, would people believe it? Jaehaerys didn't care.
"I don't even like the game," Jaehaerys said, a little bored. "It's boring and tedious... having to deal with little flies like you," Tywin's face flashed a little at being called a fly.
Tywin walked toward him, trying to maintain his characteristic confidence. He reached the edge, a few steps away from Jaehaerys.
"We can talk about it, I'll give you gold and-," When Tywin opened his mouth, Jaehaerys cut another rope. The bridge turned around.
Tywin ended up in front of Jaehaerys, his hands clinging to the wood that held the ropes of the bridge together. He extended a hand toward the prince, and Jaehaerys gave it to him.
"Ah, it slipped," the prince let go. Tywin ended up at the edge of the precipice, his hands clutching the stone as the prince took the dagger and cut the two remaining ropes.
Tywin held on tightly, his face turning red.
"You—"
"Inside," Jaehaerys threw a gold coin into his mouth, the coin entering and hitting his uvula. Tywin gagged. "It's quite a long fall from here," said the prince, looking down. He didn't feel dizzy; flying on the dragon had accustomed him to it.
"Will you give me gold?" the prince asked. Tywin spat out the coin with difficulty and nodded. Although the look in his eyes suggested he was on the verge of deciding to die. "Yes... that's not going to happen. Gold, you say? Here," Jaehaerys took out a gold ingot, it was among Balon's belongings.
Jaehaerys threw it into the sky, his eyes never leaving Tywin's, the green reflecting the gold. The ingot struck Lord Lannister between the eyes.
Jaehaerys watched him fall, his body hitting one of the island's many peaks, shattering in an instant. He was gone, without a legacy, without final words, without control.
"It would have been quite unfortunate if the ingot hadn't fallen on his face, don't you think, Balon?" he asked the corpse behind him. He then left a dagger in his hand, not the Valyrian Steel one, but another
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Jaehaerys then went to the throne room. When he arrived, Asha had already been named guardian of the Iron Islands.
The woman looked at him, then suddenly lowered her head. Was she afraid? It was no surprise. If there was an Ironborn who did not fear him, it was only because their hatred was greater. The bloodiest and most destructive battles had come from his hands. Jaehaerys mingled with the crowd, having discarded the cloak he had been wearing. The men began to ask about Tywin's absence, but Jaehaerys paid no attention to them; he followed Asha as she left the hall. He followed her until she entered a room in the castle.
When Jaehaerys entered the room, Asha immediately knelt.
"I have heard that Aegon has named you governor of the Iron Islands," Jaehaerys began, surveying the girl's petite figure.
"It will be an honor, my Lord Hand," Asha said from the floor.
"Remember... you are governor by default, the only surviving Greyjoy," Jaehaerys said coldly. "One more mistake and your people will be history, one that no one will miss." He continued to take a step toward Asha, who backed away in fear. "An honor, you said?" he asked, watching her nod uncertainly. "It is not an honor, it is your responsibility. If I hear of another damn raid, I don't care if it's in a fishing village in the remotest corner of Westeros," his footsteps echoed until he stood directly in front of her. "I need to say it?" he crouched down to where Asha was kneeling and caressed her cheek. "Do your duty... or I'll make sure there is no duty left to do," he patted her contemptuously.
Jaehaerys didn't care about that woman at all. Nor did he care about the Iron Islands. He had only one reason to leave them intact. It was Euron. As long as there were crumbs of power left in the Iron Islands, Euron would return. At least he could predict a little of what he knew about the man. After all, what he feared about Euron was not the army he could raise. Jaehaerys had broken armies before, in that same war. Besides, Asha could cause her uncle some problems by dividing the Ironborn. Unless Jaehaerys had aroused so much hatred in her that she would ally herself with that man.
Asha's brown eyes did not dare to look at the prince. 'If Euron tries to subdue her, will she accept?' the prince wondered. It was a doubt that gnawed at him. Would Asha fear the Prince of Scrolls more, or the Crow's Eye?
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It may be rushed ending the war this soon, but I think I have dedicated enough chapters to this arc.
About killing Tywin like that... maybe many of you wouldn't like that. But I do like the concept of minimizing his death, not giving him an entire chapter.